Today is Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent and the half-way point of the Advent Season. The word of God today reminds us to rejoice in the Lord always. As we look forward to His coming again, we rejoice because He came among us as a man over 2,000 years ago and He is still with us. Today, His presence can be somewhat hidden because of all the distractions in our world and in our lives. Through prayer and the sacraments, we can see Him more clearly if we take the time to look with our eyes and our hearts. The more we are aware of His first coming, which we celebrate at Christmas, the better we will be prepared to welcome Him when He comes again. The days of Advent are growing shorter, but there is still time to make this a truly holy season by preparing our hearts for the Lord Jesus to enter.
There are still many opportunities to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation this week. Please check the bulletin for dates and times. You may also want to go to Mass an extra time during the week or spend some time in the Chapel of Divine Mercy. You can also call your family to prayer at home by saying the family Rosary. You can start by just saying it once a week and then gradually add an extra day from time to time until you are saying the Rosary each day as a family. A family could not spend fifteen minutes of time in a better way than by praying the Rosary.
Invite someone back to Mass. We all know that Christmas is a time when many people choose to come to Mass even though they may not come every Sunday. We need to be welcoming to these brothers and sisters of ours and by our kindness encourage them to come to Mass every Sunday. If you have friends and relatives who don’t regularly come to Mass, please encourage them to start coming each Sunday by sharing with them how important the Mass is in your own life. Let them know that coming together to worship God and give Him thanks for all He does for us really helps us through the week in ways that we do not even realize. Coming to Mass every Sunday is still the most important thing we do in our lives because nothing can bring us closer to God in this life than participating in Mass and receiving our Lord in Holy Communion. You might also think about inviting someone to come to confession as a preparation for Christmas. Remember, if a person deliberately misses Mass on Sunday or a holy day of obligation, they need to go to confession before receiving Holy Communion again. If a person deliberately misses Mass on Sunday, they need to realize what they are saying to God by their choice. One is saying to God that I really don’t need you in my life this week. Any of us would find that hurtful if it were said to us or someone we love. So, it is hurtful to God, and we need to tell Him we are sorry. That is what confession is for, to tell God we are sorry and ask Him to help us to do better. Going to confession is not just about getting our sins forgiven, but to ask God to help us to do better in the future. Think about it, pray about it, and share it.
The PREDICTABLES made a return to the stage in McMahon Hall last Saturday evening to give a benefit concert for our St. Vincent de Paul Society. The hall was filled with people enjoying the great music and one another’s company. It was a great time of fellowship and charity for members of our community who are experiencing some challenging times. Our St. Vincent de Paul Society does wonderful work in helping people in their times of trouble, and this is due to many hardworking and dedicated people in the organization as well as our parish community. I am so very grateful for all that our parish does for our brothers and sisters in need. Over $9,000 was raised at the concert. WOW! So many generous people. A big THANK YOU! to the PREDICTABLES, a.k.a Joe McNeill, Chris Serger, and Josh Watson, for sharing their time and talent with us. May God continue to bless and inspire all of us in our charitable deeds.
Last Sunday evening we were treated to a very prayerful and inspiring presentation, Advent and the Joy of the Mysteries, a time of reflection and song on the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. The presentation was led by Tony Agnesi and Cathy Anderson. I am very grateful to Tony & Cathy and for Eric Pandrea, Sue Fajt, Holly Linger, Peggy Andrews, Caden Brenner, and Marsh Fernbaugh who shared their time and talent to enter more deeply and prayerfully into the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. May God bless you for your service to our parish community. If you couldn’t make it and would like to watch it, it was live streamed and will be available for the rest of Advent to watch at the Sacred Heart of Jesus website.
